Grey's Anatomy, Season 6
| Finale= | No. Of Episodes=24 | Viewers=13.21 million (season average) | DVD Release Date=September 14, 2010 }}Season Six of Grey's Anatomy initially aired on September 24, 2009 with the premiere episode on ABC and ended on May 20, 2010 with the season finale. The season comprises of 24 episodes. __TOC__ Synopsis The season continues to follow Meredith Grey during her residency at Seattle Grace, alongside Cristina, Alex, Izzie and Lexie who graduates from her intern class. Plot Points *The staff attempting to recover from the death of George O'Malley *The Seattle Grace-Mercy West merger. The arrival of Jackson, April, Reed and Charles and the firing of Izzie *Meredith and Derek attempting to manage married life. *Alex trying to rebuild his life after Izzie's departure. *The love triangle between Cristina, Owen and Teddy *Bailey navigating her life after her divorce. *Richard's alcoholism returning and his stepping down from the post of Chief of Surgery and Derek assuming it. *Mark and Lexie's relationship becoming strained by the unexpected arrival of his daughter. Cast Principle Cast excluded.]] The season featured 13 actors credited in a starring capacity. All of the characters credited in the fifth season with the exception of Brooke Smith and T.R. Knight, who both departed during the previous season, continue to be credited as main cast members. Katherine Heigl departs the series temporarily in the fifth episode of the season and returns on two occasions (New History and I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked) until her subsequent permanent departure in the latter episode. She continues to be credited until the nineteenth episode of the season after which she is removed from the credits. Season five guest star Jessica Capshaw returns on a regular basis and joins the main cast, while Kim Raver's status is also elevated during the season. Joining the series in the ninth episode as a recurring capacity, she appears in this fashion until she is promoted to the main cast for the seasons final six episodes, effective as of Sympathy For The Parents. Season stars Pompeo, Oh, Chambers, Wilson, Ramírez, Leigh, Capshaw and Dempsey appear in all 24 sixth season episodes. *Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey *Sandra Oh as Cristina Yang *Katherine Heigl as Izzie Stevens** *Justin Chambers as Alex Karev *Chandra Wilson as Miranda Bailey *James Pickens Jr. as Richard Webber *Sara Ramírez as Callie Torres *Eric Dane as Mark Sloan *Chyler Leigh as Lexie Grey *Kevin McKidd as Owen Hunt *Jessica Capshaw as Arizona Robbins *Kim Raver as Teddy Altman* *and Patrick Dempsey as Derek Shepherd : * Credited from onward, recurring beforehand : ** Credited until Guest Cast The season featured a wide array of guest cast members appearing in single episodes and multi-episode arcs. Kim Raver initially appeared as a guest star portraying Teddy but was elevated to a series regular mid-way through the series. In the wake of the merger with Mercy West, four recurring residents were added in the form of Jesse Williams' Jackson Avery, Sarah Drew's April Kepner, Robert Baker's Charles Percy and Nora Zehetner's Reed Adamson. Baker and Zehetner would depart the show during the season finale while Williams and Drew would become regular cast members for the following season. In addition Jason George joined the cast as Ben Warren, an anesthesiologist who would serve as a love interest for Bailey in the latter half of the season and Levin Rambin acted as Sloan Riley, the illegitimate, pregnant daughter of Mark Sloan. The season also featured an appearance by former main cast member Kate Walsh appearing as her character Addison Montgomery, as part of the January 2010 Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice cross-over. Walsh was the only character from Private Practice to cross over to Grey's Anatomy and received a 'Special Guest Star' credit. In addition, many household names joined the cast for one-episode arcs as patients including Martha Pimpton, Sara Gilbert, Marion Ross and Demi Lovato. Episodes Trivia GA06